■ SOCCER
Fluminense fans storm field
Fluminense fans invaded the team's training session on Tuesday, handing out dolls and liquor bottles to the players in a mocking gesture to vent their displeasure at the team's disappointing season. "We want the least amount of dignity and respect with Fluminense," read a banner opened by the nearly 40 fans who entered the field at the team's practice ground in Rio de Janeiro. The fans gave players the dolls as a sign the team was playing like children as well as bottles of sugarcane rum, a traditional Brazilian liquor, to symbolize a lackadaisical attitude, local media reported. Midfielder Carlos Albert verbally confronted some of the fans. Club directors and about 10 police officers ended the 10-minute protest and nobody was hurt.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Canada claim women's title
Canada reclaimed the women's world ice hockey championship with a 5-1 victory over the US in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Tuesday. Canada, winner of the Olympic gold medal last year, lost the last world championship two years ago to the US in a shootout. Jennifer Botterill, Jayna Hefford, Hayley Wickenheiser, Danielle Goyette and Sarah Vaillancourt scored for Canada before an announced sellout of 15,003 at the MTS Center. Kim St. Pierre stopped 20 of 21 shots for the win. Sweden beat Finland 1-0 for the bronze medal.
■ SOCCER
Maradona leaves hospital
Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona was released from the hospital at around midnight on Tuesday after a nearly two-week stay for alcohol abuse treatment, a source at the Guemes clinic in Bueno Aires said on condition of anonymity. "There was a meeting between his family members and the doctors and they decided to release him." Maradona had suffered from alcohol-induced hepatitis and was sedated for days to help ease his withdrawal. Maradona's personal doctor, Alfredo Cahe, told reporters earlier on Tuesday that he hoped Maradona could travel to Switzerland soon to continue his treatment there.
■ FIGURE SKATING
Slutskaya expecting a baby
Two-time Olympic skating medalist Irina Slutskaya will leave the Champions on Ice tour because she is expecting her first child. The 28-year-old Slutskaya will be staying at her home in Russia during her pregnancy. Slutskaya and her husband, Sergei Micheev, are expecting their first child this autumn. Slutskaya married Micheev, a Russian fitness instructor, in 1999. Slutskaya has been treated for vasculitis, an ailment which results in the inflammation of the blood vessels.
■ ICE HOCKEY
Blackhawks win lottery
The Chicago Blackhawks won the National Hockey League draft lottery on Tuesday, gaining the first overall selection in June's draft. Based on the inverse order of regular-season finish, the Blackhawks had the fifth-greatest percentage (8.1) of picking first. Under the lottery system, only the five teams with the fewest points had the chance to win the first overall selection. No team could move up more than four spots and no team could move backward more than one. The Blackhawks will have the top pick for the first time in club history. The Philadelphia Flyers, who had the greatest chance to win the lottery, will have to settle for picking second. The third pick went to the Phoenix Coyotes, who are followed by the Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
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